En Gedi

En Gedi is a large oasis on the western shore of the Dead Sea and the location of several archaeological sites. In addition to a Chalolithic temple (previously implemented on the Virtual World Project), a late Roman-Byzantine Jewish village with a synagogue has been uncovered. Several houses, workshops, storerooms, and a bath have been exposed in the northern part of the village. The workshops and numerous installations attest to the processing of balsam, which was perhaps the primary economic industry of the village.

Check out the village on the project.

Chalcolithic settlements in the Golan, now with Audio

Explore the Golan during the Chalocolithic period (4500-3300 BCE) with the help of audio interpretation! No less than 25 sites representing the Chalcolithic period (4500-3300 BCE) have been discovered in the central Golan since 1973, all of which were surveyed and excavated under the supervision of the late Claire Epstein (1911-2000). These sites all shared a distinct culture and social structure, as evidenced by the architecture, which includes identical unfortified villages with chains of houses built of rectangular stones, as well as the artifacts, which include worked basalt pillars with a basin that were most likely used in sacred ritual contexts. We invite you to sample this culture by visiting Rasm Harbush and Daliyyot.

More Pre-Pottery Neolithic Audio!

Beidha, located in southern Jordan just north of Petra, is one of the most significant Neolithic sites in western Asia--if not the world! Once home to Neolithic semi-settled peoples and eventual villagers who participated in the invention of sedentary agriculture, Beidha provides valuable insight into the origins of modern society. We invite you to travel back nearly 9,000 years in order to walk among its now silent buildings that once bustled with human activity, accompanied by audio site interpretation!

Zeiraqun

Zeiraqun is large Early Bronze city located on a high plateau overlooking the Wadi esh-Shallalah in northern Jordan. It covered an area approximately 300 by 400 meters and was surrounded by a large, 7 meter thick wall along its northern, western, and southern sides (the vertical wall of the wadi provided protection on its eastern side). The excavations focused on two areas. In the upper city, along the western wall, the excavators uncovered the main city gate, which gave entrance to a temple complex, and administrative center, and an industrial area. In the southwestern corner of the site, the excavators uncovered a postern gate and a residential area.

Zeiraqun is an important site because it is one of the largest Early Bronze cities in the southern Levant. The temple complex, with its adjacent adminstrative center, also has parallels with the Early Bronze temple complex at Megiddo.

New Audio Clips Posted for Pre-pottery Neolithic Sites in Jordan!

Come explore the fascinating Stone Age settlements at Basta and 'Ein Abu Nukhayla, located in southern Jordan, with the assistance of audio interpretation. Dated to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period (PPNB), ca. 8000-9600 years B.P. (ca. 6000-7600 yrs. BCE), these ancient stone dwellings witness to the daily lives of human beings in the earliest centuries following the invention of agriculture.

Stroll through Endangered Dolmen Fields, now with Audio!

Audio introduction is now available for the fascinating dolmen fields at al-Mureighat and Damiyeh in western Jordan. These ancient monuments to human culture have been standing for roughly 5,000 years, but today are being threatened with destruction by bulldozers from nearby quarrying operations. Help save the dolmens by calling attention to these irreplaceable world treasures and the fact that they remain vulnerable to local, modern expansion.